1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods of treating diseases such as hypertension using ferulic acid compounds. It also relates to compositions, such as fat compositions, comprising a ferulic acid compound and a diglyceride.
2. Description of the Background Art
Hypertension is correlated with cardiac diseases such as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction and heart failure. It also is associated with cerebrovascular diseases such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cardiac diseases and cerebrovascular diseases are the second and third causes of death in Japan, respectively. Such diseases cause substantial mortality and morbidity in many other countries as well, particularly in the more developed parts of the world. In the year 1998, sixty four patients per thousand in Japan visited the hospital regularly for hypertension according to research by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and hypertension is a primary cause of death.
As a countermeasure against the hypertension, a number of therapies have been developed, for instance development and use antihypertensive drugs such as diuretics, sympatholytic depressants, vasodilators and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. These drugs are usually administered to patients diagnosed with a serious degree of hypertension.
On the other hand, treatments which generally improve health or contribute to a healthy lifestyle are indicated for patients with slight or serious hypertension. Such lifestyle changes or therapies include, dietary improvements or supplementation, stress reduction, therapeutic exercise and restriction of smoking and drinking. Improvement in dietary habits is of particular importance, as some foods may induce or contribute to hypertension. On the other hand selection of foods that provide hypotensive or anti-hypertensive effects may provide a positive overall benefit. Certain antihypertensive compounds or compositions have been identified and isolated from various food products.
While pharmaceutical medications and drugs generally act faster and exert a satisfactory anti-hypotensive effect than lifestyle or dietary changes, they often burden a patient with undesirable side-effects. On the other hand, while traditional food and nutritional products providing anti-hypertensive benefits are generally safe and free from substantial side-effects, the anti-hypertensive effects provided by these products may not always be satisfactory strong or efficacious, particularly in moderate or severe cases of hypertension, or the beneficial effects of such products may require a long time to develop.
Ferulic acid (3-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propenoic acid (C.sub.10 H.sub.10 O.sub.4) is widely distributed in small amounts in plants. It may be isolated according to the method of Batesmith, Chem. & Ind. (London) 1954, 1457 or Klosterman, Muggli, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 81, 2188 (1959). It may also be prepared by chemical synthesis, for example, a process by a condensation reaction of vanillin and malonic acid, Journal of American Chemical Society, 74, 5346, (1952). Ferulic acid has the following chemical structure: ##STR1##